


Under My Skin

by lormenari



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: F/M, Friends to Lovers, Stydia Big Bang, isaac is also in here but a minor character, it's a college au, mentions of kira and malia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-07
Updated: 2017-02-07
Packaged: 2018-09-22 14:18:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9611126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lormenari/pseuds/lormenari
Summary: When the girl he had a crush on from third grade until she moved away freshman year is sitting in his first class of the semester, Stiles almost has a panic attack. He's determined to get to know her again but in the process they both might get more than they bargained for.





	

**Author's Note:**

> It's been a very long time since I've written anything to completion. I'm so glad that I decided to enter this! Happy reading! Stydia is canon!

“Mrs. King told me that no one plays with you.”

Five year old Stiles Stilinski looked up from where he was playing in the sandbox. A boy his age was standing outside the sandbox and Stiles was curious because no one really talked to him. Maybe it was because he talked too much. Perhaps it was because sometimes he got really hyper in class and had to be moved away from the other kids to not distract them.

“Why did she tell you that?”

“No one played with me in my last school. Maybe she thought we could be friends.”

“Okay. I bought some toy trucks from home. Want to play? I’m Stiles.”

“I”m Scott.”

The boy named Scott got into the sandbox and sat down beside Stiles before taking the offered Hot Wheels. 

“My dad used to get me Matchbox cars but I got some Hot Wheels because they are definitely faster.”

Stiles honestly didn’t know if they were, in fact, faster but they looked cooler so to his five year old mind aesthetics equaled speed.

“My dad doesn’t really pay attention to me much. That must be cool to have a dad that buys you things.”

“Yeah, he’s busy, too though. He’s a police officer.”

“My dad does stuff like that. My mom says I was born here but we moved away. Now we’re back.”

“Do you think you’ll stay?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

“Good. I like having someone to talk to.”

“Me, too. Hey, who is that over there? She keeps looking at us.”

“That’s Lydia. She’s the smartest person I know.”

* * * * *

“I still don’t know why you’re taking organic chemistry,” came Scott from his phone.

Going to Stanford University while Scott was at California State University East Bay kind of sucked. The only good thing was that their schools were just a little over twenty miles away from each other. Their first year in college was spent in dorm rooms away from each other but constantly together. This year, however, they found an apartment halfway between the two schools. 

“It’s an elective. Plus, the professor has really good reviews. And I’m curious.”

Stiles smiled as Scott sighed on the line. It was pretty common for Scott to not understand why Stiles made half the decisions he did. Scott was always looking for ways to effectively get his degree while taking classes he would thoroughly enjoy. Organic chemistry did not seem like one of them. 

“And you had to take it this early? I’m still in bed.”

“You know I’m not one for sleeping much.”

When his mother was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, he pursued the public library looking for anything he could that would help him understand it better – help him take care of her more. It was really when his nonsleeping habit seemed to form. It was a habit Scott hated because Scott loved his sleep. However, he was always a good friend and tried to stay up and help Stiles. Most of the time he ended up crashed out in Stiles’ bed with a book over his face. Since then, Stiles has had a way of getting sucked down information sinkholes and his accumulation of useless facts keeps growing.

“Alright, well, have fun at your early boring class. Thanks for not making too much noise this morning.”

Stiles said his goodbyes and pushed his cellphone in his pant pocket. Armed with only a textbook, a notebook and a pen, Stiles sat down in the third row. The room was large but it definitely wouldn’t hold more than thirty students due to the front of the room being the biggest part. A few of his peers started wondering in and he was concentrated on chewing his lid cap and thinking to himself. 

Out of the corner of his eye he caught strawberry-blonde hair and he froze for a millisecond. Why was that hair so familiar? Could it? But no, no it couldn’t. He was being completely stupid.

“Alright, class, I am Professor Stein. Welcome to organic chemistry. I will be teaching this part of the course. Your labs are where you will put what you learn in here to use. Now, I am going to hand the syllabus out. Take one and pass it down. The person at the end of the row needs to pass it behind them.”

She handed the syllabi to the first person in the first row and they, unceremoniously, got passed around. The girl with the strawberry-blonde hair was at the end of row one and, for some reason, he held his breath as he waited for her to turn and give it to the person behind him. Then she did.

Lydia Martin.

Stiles could feel his heart beating out of his chest. He looked down at his hands, his fingers feeling like they were going numb. Suddenly he couldn’t breathe. He had to get out of the room. He had to. 

No. No, he could control this. He had learned to control the panic attacks in high school. He could do this. He started to take deep breaths and count to ten. He counted to ten again and kept repeating in his head that she didn’t hate him. That she probably never read the letter. 

She was a ghost. A ghost of could’ve beens…a ghost of ‘maybes’ and ‘possiblys’..a ghost of ‘maybe in a different life.’ She was the ghost that always haunted him and suddenly she had a form once more.

Somehow, he managed to remain calm until class was over and he could call Scott.

* * * * *

“Why are you by yourself?”

Eight-year-old Stiles Stilinski looked around to try and figure out who the red-headed little girl was talking to. It couldn’t be him. There was no way Lydia Martin could be talking to him. Last year when they still sat in a group of four, she was in his group and called him a new name practically every day. She told him his color choices were wrong –  _ “Orange and blue do not look good together, Stuart.”  _ He could still hear her the words exactly as she said them ringing in his head. She didn’t talk to him unless she had to so the fact that she was addressing him first threw him off.

“Me?”

“Who else would I be talking to? There’s no one around. Which is why I am asking why you’re by yourself. Where is the shorter one…the one that always follows you around?”

Stiles licked his lips and cocked his head to the side. Followed him around? The only person he ever talked to was Scott. Did Scott follow him around?

“Are you dumb?”

“What? No.”

“Then answer my question.”

“He’s sick…he’s in the hospital for an asthma treatment.”

Lydia seemed to be content with this answer. Her face, haughty most of the time, fell just slightly when she heard where his friend was. The two boys were inseparable and it irritated a lot of people. She, however, didn’t care one way or another. The sight just took her off guard. Lydia moved to the swing set and sat down on one.

“I have no one to push me. So, you’re going to do it.”

Little Stiles, the boy whose mom was getting sicker and sicker, jumped up and nodded his head. There wasn’t much more to do other than to push Lydia on the swings. So, he did. He didn’t stop until the bell rang to signal the end of recess.  

“You have pretty red hair!” he called out as she started to run back into the school.

The girl turned and frowned slightly at him. 

“It’s strawberry-blonde!”

He was a goner. Somehow in that short amount of time, the girl had gotten under his skin.

* * * * *

“No. You have to be wrong. That is not Lydia Martin. There’s no way. She was not. No.”

Stiles was adamantly denying that the girl in a very short skirt and tons of makeup on who was batting her eyelashes and twirling her hair next to Jackson Whittemore could be the girl he had been crushing on since the moment she demanded he pushed her on the swings. Not that there was anything wrong with the short skirt or the makeup. He kind of liked the way she looked in the skirt. It was the way things seemed to change, quite drastically, over the summer.

“Dude, you know as well as I do that it is.”

Scott, his faithful and ever present best friend was truly a hero of a guy. They had met in kindergarten and he had been there for him when his mom had died last year. He hadn’t grown out of his asthma but it was less often and he had his handy inhaler around – the one that Stiles sometimes took puffs of after gym class. Stiles had never been happier to have a best friend like Scott McCall. Everyone should have a best friend like Scott McCall. 

“Last year – last freaking year – she was winning that stupid tri county knowledge contest thing. Remember? Your mom tried to get me to sign up but I was pretty sure useless knowledge wouldn’t be a topic that came up.”

Scott sighed and looked over Stiles. He had that look in his eye, the one that Stiles hated. Stiles seemed to have big dreams about what seventh grade was going to be like. Scott was an optimist by virtue. He always looked on the sunny side of things. Yet, somehow, he didn’t quite believe junior high was going to be the amazing year that Stiles thought it would be. Mainly because he was also pretty sure Lydia Martin would not fall in love with his best friend. It could be worse though, they could both have acne.

“Stiles, maybe Lydia wants to dress that way.”

“And act dumb? She’s laughing at his jokes. Which are not funny. At all.”

“You’ve only heard him tell two jokes in your entire life.”

“Besides the point. Jackson is one of those guys that only care about what they can get.”

“Let Lydia deal with it. There’s nothing you can do, dude. Unless you suddenly become amazing at sports and grow a bit and get some muscles…”

Stiles side-eyed Scott and threw his hands up in mock annoyance. 

“What am I going to do? My best friend – “

“Only friend,” Scott interrupted.

“Really? Really? We’re doing that? We are going there?” A moment passed. “Whatever.”

Stiles shut his locker – the one he still wasn’t sure if he would be able to remember the combination to after his first class – and fixed his baseball cap, ready for his first class of the day.

“YOU! NO HATS!”

A man, presumably a coach by the looks of his attire and whistle around his neck, grabbed the hat from his head and kept walking down the hall.

“Damn. That was my favorite Mets hat.”

* * * * *

“Why did they think it was a good idea to move Coach up to high school athletics?” 

“Probably because he has made kids cry for years now.” 

Stiles nodded his head and leaned down to tie his shoe. Going out for lacrosse was probably the stupidest thing they had ever dreamed up. It was, of course, Stiles’ idea. Scott had been on board though. His asthma had not. But they had spent the entire summer between eighth and ninth grade working on their lacrosse skills. Scott was only marginally better than Stiles. Yet, they still were going to attempt to make the team.

Coach Finstock’s whistle blew and the boys in the locker room ran out in gym shorts and old practice jerseys. 

The older boys were incredible. At least, compared to them, they were. Jackson was easily going to have a spot on the team. He was almost as good as the seniors. There was one senior, Greenburg, who was Coach’s favorite to yell at. It wasn’t that he was bad. Greenburg was actually pretty good. The thing of it was, however, it took him a while for Coach’s instructions to make sense. 

Basically, it was a mess. 

Coach promised results in a week but Scott had a feeling they were not going to be on the list. Stiles, on the other hand, felt like maybe his luck was changing. Lydia still did not notice him, of course, and perhaps he was stupid to believe that she ever would. Yet, the fact remained that he was hopeful. Two weeks into freshman year and Lydia had been assigned his bio lab partner. The stars were aligning and Mercury was in retrograde – which, sure, he had no idea if that was good or bad but it didn’t matter – things were happening. 

“You look extremely happy to go to first period on a Monday,” Scott said.

It was the next week at school and Stiles seemed exceptionally chipper. He had on a pair of new jeans that his dad had allowed him to buy considering he needed a longer pair. His shirt was clean (hey, he was making an effort this year!) and his buzz cut wasn’t too bad. His dad was a fan of buzzcuts because they could be done at home and save money. He thought he would keep it for a while. 

“What can I say, Scotty boy, the world is full of possibilities.”

“It’s the third week of school. You should not be so happy.”

“Stop with the negativity.”

The boys reached their locker. Stiles looked towards where Lydia was walking down the hall. Her locker was only seven lockers down from his and she passed him every day on the way there.

“Lydia, you look – like you’re going to ignore me.”

She did. Completely. Of course, Stiles noted, that she couldn’t be blamed. She had a gaggle of girls following her and hanging on to her every word. How was it that a third week freshman had that many followers already?

“Are you ever going to ask her out?”

“The ten-year plan is still in effect.”

“So, that’s a no.”

The bell rang and Stiles raised his eyebrows at Scott and held up his biology book.

“Better go meet my lab partner!”

It turned out that Mercury being in retrograde was a very bad thing. At the end of the week two things happened that sent Stiles’ ten-year plan almost in the trash. 

“We didn’t make the team.”

Stiles wasn’t listening. He was thinking about what Lydia had told him earlier that day. He hadn’t even told Scott yet. Normally, if Lydia talked to him it would be the first thing that Stiles told Scott. This time, however, was different. There was no excitement left in him. The world was falling apart. At least his world was. 

“Stiles. Are you listening?”

“Huh?”

“We didn’t make the team.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah…so I think we should take this year to practice and get better. We will go out next year and make it. Sophomore year is going to be our year. Stiles?”

“She’s moving.”

“Who?”

Stiles looks at him. There is only one girl that he would be this upset over and once it clicks in Scott’s mind he sighs and puts his arm around his best friend’s shoulder.

“Shit. I’m sorry, dude.”

“Yeah.”

“What happened? Did she tell you or did someone else?”

“Yeah, Scott, she told me. She came in and sat beside me, turned her perfect head with her beautiful hair – it’s strawberry-blonde by the way in case you didn’t know – and said ‘I’m moving. Tomorrow is my last day. Sorry.’ And then turned back around and started taking notes as if she wasn’t going to a new school with a new teacher and a new lab partner. Fuck.”

“Come on, let’s get you home.”

* * * * *

There was no logical reason why Lydia Martin being in his organic chemistry class should cause him to almost have a panic attack. Correction, he  _ did  _ have a panic attack. This time, however, he was able to control it pretty well. He had learned over the years how to get better at controlling the situation. Scott’s mom helped a lot with that. His dad did as well. And, of course, Scott was always a big help to him when he needed it the most. Scott was his brother. 

It wasn’t like she would be in his lab. He was pretty sure there was three different labs so he only had, roughly, a thirty-three percent chance that she would be in his specific lab. If she wasn’t in his lab then he would only have to see her twice a week for fifty minutes. He could do that. No problem. 

Scott handed him a beer later that night at their apartment. 

“Where and when did you get this?”

“Derek.”

Stiles nodded his head. Derek was a grad student at CalState that had become a mentor of sorts to Scott. He wasn’t exactly friendly with Stiles but it wasn’t like he was rude either. It was just passing grunts. Stiles honestly didn’t see what Scott saw in him. Yet, they were friends so Stiles let it pass. For now.

He took the beer and popped it open before sitting down at their table. It wasn’t the best but they both had single parents that worked hard to help as much as they could. Scott’s job working part time at the veterinary hospital in town only brought in a little more than Stiles’ job. He worked for the university as a tutor and through some blessing from the deity above, his job was secure. He didn’t have the best track record with being  _ kind  _ to people. It wasn’t that he was mean – he just, didn’t always have the best way with words.

“You’re quiet.”

“Oh, fuck. Should I be using my outside voice?”

“Stiles.”

His voice was like a warning. It reminded him of his dad in a way. When he was being sarcastic his dad always had a tone to the way he said his name that clearly indicated he was not messing around. Scott was the more reliable one of the two of them. It made sense that he was the dad in the equation.

“I don’t know what you want me to say.”

“What’s wrong? Bad class? Sucky teacher? Dude, I told you those professor ratings were bogus. You called me this morning and told me you had a panic attack but you never said what happened.”

“Lydia Martin is in my organic chemistry class.”

The air suddenly felt like it had been sucked out of the room. Scott knew how badly Stiles has wanted there to be something between Lydia and himself when they were younger. He also knew that while she had moved away and Stiles had moved on, a small part of him still harbored the thought of ‘what if.’ 

“Oh. Well, that’s shocking news.”

Stiles looked up from where he was staring at the wall to give Scott a glare.

“Shocking news? I had a fucking panic attack. Balanced myself. And all but ran out of class as soon as it was dismissed. She could be in my lab, Scott.”

Scott looked at his friend for a minute and took a deep breath. 

“But what made you have a panic attack?”

Stiles shrugged his shoulders and rolled the still mostly full can of beer in between his hands, careful not to spill any on himself. 

“I don’t know. I wasn’t expecting it. I never expected to see her again.”

“I wonder if she ever read your note.”

Stiles wondered if it was normal to play sick in college. He couldn’t get in trouble for it because it wasn’t like there were any parents to catch him in the lie. But missing the first day of a lab seemed like a bad way to start the semester so he got out of bed and prepared himself to face the day. And the possibility that he would have to see Lydia for four days instead of two. That would have been the dream when he was younger. Now, however, it stressed him out. What if she read his note? 

* * * * *

Stiles knew it was her last day. She looked, well, she looked how she always did: perfect. His palms were sweating as he rubbed his head through his basically nonexistent hair. He had spent hours trying to come up with exactly the perfect letter to send with her. Honestly, he probably only got four hours of sleep and yet he was still hyper sensitive and aware. When would he give it to her? What would she say? Would he even have the guts to hand that folded piece of paper to her? He moved his leg up and down nervously as he tried to pay attention to what the teacher said. It wasn’t like he was the one that was leaving after today so knowing what was going on was probably something that was expected of him.  

“You know, if you ask he will let you go to the bathroom or take your meds whatever it is that you need to do,” came a crisp but quiet voice.

Stiles almost fell out of his seat in shock. Lydia was talking to him. Sure, it sounded like she thought he was a complete idiot but it didn’t matter. The only thing she had said to him in years was that she was moving.

“Uh…I’m okay. Just nervous energy.”

“Does this happen often? Are you anxious? Do you have panic attacks?”

Eyes glanced in her direction as he realized she seemed to know more about him than she let on. He swallowed and nodded his head.

“Yeah. Ever since my mom died.” 

“Does this happen at random times or do you find it happening more specifically?”

He shrugged his shoulders. It was probably a mix of both but he didn’t want to say that to her. She might get fed up with him and stop talking.

“To better pose the question: is there a specific reason now?”

His eyes looked up and met hers. She kept looking at him and suddenly the girl that she was pretending to be in the hallway was gone. She wasn’t stupid. This girl was one of the most intelligent he had ever met. She was probably going to win some fancy award like the Nobel Prize. Maybe away from Jackson she could be the girl she was and not have to pretend to be someone else. He hated to think of it though. Not having Lydia around, well, it would suck. Lydia Martin being born was the best thing that had ever happened to Beacon Hills. 

The bell was about to ring and Lydia was looking at him like he was a complete idiot. He felt a panic attack coming on but he didn’t know what to do. His fingers were going numb and it was like he couldn’t breathe.

“Stiles?”

She sounded worried. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the letter he had written, slammed it on her desk, and ran out of the room just as the bell rang. That was the last time he saw her.

“Dude, you okay?”

“Well, ten year plan is down the drain.”

“Oh?”

“It’s been changed to fifteen.”

* * * * *

“Stiles Stilinski. That’s a name I thought I would never hear again. Imagine my surprise when the boy that’s connected to that name is in my organic chemistry class.”

That voice. He knew it better than he knew his own. It felt like an entire lifetime had passed since he had last heard it, yet it had only been a few years. His eyes flashed up to the girl standing over the table he had picked. Lydia. Somehow, he  _ knew _ she would be in his lab. 

“Uh…hey…hey, Lydia.”

She flashed him a smile and sat down beside him. Her hair and makeup was different than freshman year. Everything seemed a bit more natural yet still absolutely flawless. He couldn’t believe what was happening.

“We can be partners, right?”

After nodding his head dumbly, he moved his books out of her way so she could put her things down as well. 

“Of – of course.”

“You know, I never thought I’d be back in California after I moved. I always wanted to attend Stanford, however. I got in and didn’t look back.”

“Cool.”

His fingers were twirling a pen in them as he thought of how stupid he sounded. Not to mention she probably thought he was disinterested. Which he wasn’t.

“I mean…that’s cool. It’s cool to see you here.”

Still stupid.

“Right. So, are you still best friends with Scott?”

“Oh. Yeah. We have an apartment together. He goes to Cal State.”

“My boyfriend does too. Well, technically he’s not my boyfriend. It’s not serious. I don’t know why I’m telling you this. How have you been?”

Stiles shrugged and licked his lips slowly. It was a bad habit of his. The answer to her question didn’t seem good enough. How had he been? He wanted to know if she ever read his letter. However, asking was out of the question.

“I’ve been good. I picked my major finally. Affective Science.”

Lydia quirked her head to the side and took a better look at him. He felt like she was scrutinizing his every movement. His heart picked up speed. 

_ Do not panic, Stilinski. _

“Psychology field, correct? It’s the study of the emotion, culture and psychopathology. It’s a fascinating science considering it’s still in the testing phase. Understanding the psychological mechanisms that underlie human behavior must be a rush. Figuring key factors to mental health issues -”

“Did you know that women are two times as likely as men to have panic disorder. Which is kind of ironic considering I was diagnosed when I was eleven with panic disorder.”

He didn’t mean to interrupt her. Sometimes his brain just worked faster than he could control. She didn’t look mad or upset. In fact, her face had a look of interest – one that he would have died for when they were younger.

“I didn’t. I also did not know that you have panic disorder. It makes sense, though. That’s when your mom...I’m majoring in Theoretical Mathematics.”

Stiles chose not to comment on the part of her comment. It seemed as if she didn’t mean to say it at all. However, it did strike something in him. She remembered him telling her about having panic attacks.

“Wow. That’s very smart.”

Her lips curved into a smile and a small blush graced her perfect cheeks briefly. Stiles thought it was something that should be captured forever. If only he was an artist, then he would spend his life making sure she was immortalized on canvas. No matter what else was going on he knew for certain that Lydia Martin was beautiful and she always would be – in his eyes at least. It didn’t matter how many years went by.

“Thank you,” she said right when the teacher’s assistant who would be teaching the lab came in.

Their focus wasn’t on each other anymore, or at least that’s what they both told themselves. 

* * * * *

“So, she’s your lab partner? I feel like history and future have gotten together to play a very big joke on you.”

“Thanks. I’m feeling the love, Scotty.”

“I’m just saying it’s kind of ironic.”

“Trust me, the irony is not lost on me.”

“So…how is she?”

Stiles sighed and ran a hand through his hair. There was no way he could still be caught up in that crush he had on Lydia Martin. He was over it. She moved, he thought of making a Facebook account just to add her but chickened out, and he moved on. Sort of. Sure, he didn’t date  _ a lot  _ but he wasn’t celibate. 

“She’s fine. Her kind of boyfriend goes to CalState, she’s a Theoretical Mathematics major – which, by the way, I told you way back then that she was brilliant – and that’s about all I know.

“We should invite her over.”

“No, we shouldn’t.”

“We should. Invite her for this weekend.”

“Don’t you have a date with Allison?”

Suddenly Scott was under the microscope and it felt a bit like payback.

“She cancelled. Her parents are making a trip to see her.”

“Are you two…ya know, still whatever you two are?”

“We’re just…we’re talking. That’s all.”

“Right.”

“Invite Lydia over.”

“Fuck. Fine.”

* * * * *

“In our lab manuals it says we do not need a temperature probe due to the fact that we are heating the water to its boiling point. We need to put one gram of phthalic acid in a fifty milliliter Erlenmeyer flask.”

Stiles busied himself with getting the lab set up and going as Lydia continued to read instructions and help him out. They were perfect lab partners it seemed. They were so in sync as if they were thinking with one brain. They worked in silence as they dissolved crystals and allowed them to form again. 

They started on the second part of their lab, solubility tests, and wrote down answers to questions based on what they observed. Stiles could tell that Lydia loved this. It was almost as if it were in her blood. As Stiles wrote the last answer down in his lab manual he looked over at Lydia.

“Scott wants to invite you over. This weekend.”

“Oh?” she asked as she closed her manual and looked over at him, the plastic goggles not detracting from her looks at all.  

“Yeah. If you want. Or you’re not busy.”

“Is it just Scott that wants to invite me over?” she asked as she closed her manual.

“Wh-what do you mean?”

“I mean…was it only Scott that wants me to come over or do you want me to as well?”

Their eyes met and his heart started to beat out of his chest. Could she be flirting? No. There was no way. None whatsoever. 

“I do.”

“Okay.”

Lydia took his hand and neatly wrote her name with her number on his palm. It would have been easier for her to put her number in his phone, he realized, but this was much better. She was touching him.

“There. Let me know when.”

Before he could say anything, she was gone.

* * * * *

Stiles had sent her a text as soon as he knew when and what time. He didn’t think she would text back other than to agree but suddenly he found himself talking to her via text messages almost every free moment he had. Talk wasn’t limited to school. Stiles soon found himself being asked everything from his thoughts on politics to his panic disorder. Nothing was an off the table topic. When Saturday actually came around and she was an hour away from coming over, Stiles was having a mini crisis.

“Stiles, you said you felt nothing for her anymore.”

“I don’t.”

“I know when you are telling the truth. This is not one of those times.”

Eyes darted over to look at the darker headed of the two. He should have known better than to try and fool Scott. He was basically his brother and there was something to be said about brothers – especially when they were not bonded by blood – Scott and Stiles would always have each other’s back.

“I don’t know how I feel, Scott. All I know is after five years she’s back in my life and talking to me like she wasn’t the one that ignored me for years. She has a boyfriend.”

“I thought you said she told you it was casual.”

“She did. But that doesn’t mean anything. Why did she even tell me that?”

“Maybe she thinks you’re cute and doesn’t want to come off as unavailable.”

“Have you been reading Nicholas Sparks again?”

“You bought me The Notebook for my birthday!”

“Hey! That’s a good book. Don’t come after The Notebook.”

“You were coming after me!”

Stiles rubbed his eyes and then let his hands drop. He felt  _ trapped.  _ He felt like he was going to go crazy as he waited for Lydia to show up. What if she bailed? What if she decided that she had something far more important to do? Scott walked over to him and put both of his hands on Stiles’ shoulders. 

“Snap out of it man. Everything is going to be fine. We are catching up with a girl we’ve known since elementary school. Nothing more.”

There was a pause as Stiles started to come down from his building anxiety attack.

“But go fix your hair. And don’t use too much gel.”

Scott could see the question form in Stiles’ brain and almost make it to his tongue before he intervened.

“You know how much is too much. Go.”

Thirty minutes later three sharp knocks were heard and Stiles’ eyes grew wide as he stared at Scott. Clearly Stiles was frozen in place so Scott headed towards the door. That’s when Stiles gained back his ability to move and made it to the door. 

“Lydia,” he breathed out.

She was standing in front of him in a navy blue floral print dress. She looked carefree and put together at the same time. Stiles would never understand how girls did it. He barely looked clean half the time.

“Hi, Stiles.”

“Come in.”

After Lydia walked in, Stiles closed the door and turned to her just as Scott came towards them. It felt like some sort of strange reunion. What if Lydia Martin had stayed in Beacon Hills? Was this a possibility? Could the three of them been friends? Lydia hugged Scott briefly and then followed him to the living room. Stiles was close behind. For a moment he was transported back to his high school self. He shook it off quickly when Lydia turned to speak to him.

“Nice place you have.”

Lydia turned and smiled at Scott then, trying to include both of them.

“Did you pick it out or did Stiles?”

“It was Scott. He found it before I even knew he was looking.”

“You should see Stiles’ -”

“Okay, come on. We have pizza.” 

Stiles was not about to let Scott tell Lydia to look at his room. Scott, always the best friend, was constantly trying to set him up on dates to find  _ the one.  _ He was more of a romantic than Stiles was and that was saying a lot. Stiles needed to make sure to put a stop to it now, though, at least when it came to Lydia. 

Pizza, alcohol, talk and laughter flowed easily between the three of them in the next couple of hours. A phone rang and Scott excused himself to talk to Allison. Stiles and Lydia, for the first time that night, were silent. Neither one looked at each other though they both desperately wanted to. Stiles wasn’t sure why he suddenly felt his heart pick up speed. 

“Scott is dating this girl? The one he went to talk to?”

“Her name is Allison. They aren’t dating exactly. But I think it’s going in that direction. He really likes her. They met in class when she dropped her pencil. At least I think that was what he said. She’s been over a few times but I’ve only talked to her in passing. She seems nice.”

“He deserves someone nice. I wasn’t...the best person when I was at Beacon Hills. And don’t get me wrong I’m still not the best. I’m nearly not as nice as most people around. I like to be on top in whatever I do. I’m bossy, I expect the best from everyone I surround myself with, and I want my friends to be able to keep up with me. You and I being lab partners is actually great because you can keep up.”

Lydia paused and kept her eyes in front of her, refusing to look over at him. The air was filled with tension and he wondered if she was actually afraid that he might reject him if he knew her true self. 

“I know who I am and what I want. I’d like us to be friends, Stiles, but you need to know the kind of person I am.”

Her eyes finally met his and Stiles noticed a certain vulnerability there. This was a girl who had hardened herself to others. Somehow she deemed him worthy of letting her walls down just a bit. 

“We’re friends, Lydia. I’m not going anywhere.”

* * * * *

A few weeks had passed and the semester was in full swing which meant so was the party life. The Greek houses were rushing freshmen and throwing amazing parties. At least at Cal State Berkeley they were. Scott was invited to almost everyone even though he wasn’t in a fraternity. However, he was well known and a good guy and people genuinely liked him. Where Scott went, so did Stiles. This week the top Greek fraternity house was throwing a huge party and Scott was meeting Allison there. Stiles, of course, would be the third wheel. He had gotten used to it lately and he didn’t mind it at all. Okay, he did slightly, but only because it reminded him that he was single.  

His red solo cup was in his hand and he was looking around. There were tons of people in the frat house and he was feeling a little claustrophobic. He looked around until he found Scott and Allison laughing in a corner. Allison had her hair, twisting it around her finger, and Scott was clearly making jokes. Stiles realized that his jokes were probably horrible but Allison was into him enough to laugh. His first instinct was to roll his eyes until he realized that he was jealous of what they had. He wished that he found someone who was into him the way Allison was into Scott. In high school Scott had dated a really amazing girl named Kira. She was great and she got along really well with Stiles. They regularly had double dates with Stiles and his girlfriend, Malia. But, all good things come to an end, especially in high school. Malia and Stiles ended after six months and Kira ended up moving away. Last Scott had heard, though, Malia and Kira were dating. Kind of insane how things ended up. Since then, Stiles had dated here and there and had a few random hook ups but nothing that stuck. 

“Hey...I’m going to go outside and see how beer pong is going. Feel like coming?” 

He was asking both of them but Allison nodded her head which made Scott agree. Stiles turned and headed for the door. He knew they would follow, hand in hand, and mushy in love. It was pretty damn annoying but he wouldn’t change it for Scott. Stiles could be a selfish asshole at times but when it came to his brother he did his best not to be. 

Once they were outside, Stiles got in line to play next at one of the beer pong tables. Some dude with sandy blonde, curly hair was beating a dude with a cowboy hat on. He  _ was  _ silently judging the cowboy guy but he figured he had no room to do that. After all, his hat was on backwards like some party guy frat boy. Sandy blonde boy won and he was next. He grabbed some beers out of the cooler nearby and started filling his cups and then lined them up. He glanced up and when he did he saw Lydia standing by the sandy blonde boy. His heart started beating erratically and he mentally began telling himself to stop. There was no need. He felt  _ nothing  _ for her so his heart needed to stop acting like he ran a mile. 

“H-Hey, Lydia,” he said, his smile crooked.

Lydia looked over at him and gave him a wide smile. Sandy blonde boy’s forehead was creased as he tried to put it altogether. Lydia came over to him and gave him a quick hug. 

“I didn’t expect you to be here.”

“Oh, yeah. I came with Scott.”

“I’m sure he makes a great date.”

“Oh, no...I mean...he’s here with Allison..the girl...remember? I’m just tagging along.”

She nodded her head and went back to the other side of the table. His opponent reached out to shake his hand. Stiles met him and shook it. At least he seemed nice but who was to judge based solely on a handshake?

“Hey, man. I’m Isaac.”

“Oh, right. Stiles..this is my...my friend Isaac.”

This dude must be the guy she told him about, the one she was casual with. Which, in college terms meant they fucked whenever they could but didn’t want to make it anything official. Fun.

“Stiles? She’s mentioned you a few times,” Isaac said, his smile bright but kind of dangerous. 

“Oh? Huh. Yeah, we used to go to highschool together.”

“I know. Ready to start?”

For some reason Stiles was dying to beat Isaac. He was highly competitive when it came to beer pong already but there was something about Isaac that got on his nerves and made his desire to win grow tenfold. Isaac was good. He matched Stiles cup for cup. And every time he made one he would drink it and then kiss Lydia. This fueled Stiles on in a way that he didn’t understand. It was almost as if he was in a rage. Allison and Scott were soon behind him and cheering him on. He arched his wrist as he aimed, tongue out of his mouth, and shot. It went in. It was the last cup and the last shot he had to make and it went in. Stiles started celebrating but everyone else had started talking amongst themselves. Scott introduced Lydia to Allison and they were chatting away. Stiles sighed. No one else was waiting for beer pong so he stacked the cups and turned to the new group; still the odd man out. 

After about an hour of the girls chatting about hair, makeup, and Allison's archery skills and Scott and Isaac discussing motorcycles, Stiles had enough. He simply disappeared in hopes that no one would notice. And they didn’t. That is until Scott realized that the main source of sarcastic remarks was missing. He took it upon himself to find his best friend while Allison stayed and talked to Lydia. 

Scott knew Stiles pretty well and he found him perched up in a tree, red solo cup in one hand. Definitely not the safest thing for a boy with a bit too much alcohol in his system. Stiles didn’t always think about his safety though. 

“Why are you in a tree?”

“Am I? Am I in a tree, Scotty? No one knows if this is even a tree. Perhaps it is not and we have just named it a tree in order to understand our world. Maybe two hundred years in the future they will laugh at us like we do the ancient Greeks and their stories of how things came to be.”

“Now I know you’ve had too much to drink.”

“But what is too-”

“Don’t even start. Stiles, what’s wrong? Don’t say nothing is wrong because I  _ know  _ something is wrong. I also have an idea what’s wrong but I’d like to hear you say it.”

Stiles sighed and then shrugged his shoulders a bit roughly, some of his beer coming out and falling on Scott. Scott just sighed and wiped it off as he continued to look up at his best friend. 

“Do you think there’s one person out there for us? You know, like a soulmate?”

“I used to. I still kind of do. But I don’t think this person is like  _ destined  _ to be with you. I think that two souls just figure out how to be soulmates. The other person gets under your skin and you can’t ignore it. Maybe you don’t want to, deep down, and it just makes sense, even if you don’t see it right away.”

Stiles looked out at the sky, mesmerized to notice how many stars were in the sky. It was beautiful. He sat there and looked out while Scott looked up at him, confused but willing to listen to his drunk talk. 

“Did you know that there’s an ancient myth? It’s the red string of fate...it says that when two people are tied by the red string there connection can’t be broken. They can go far away from each other or they can lose contact for years but it doesn’t matter. They’ll always end up together in the end.”

Scott looked up at his friend. He knew that Stiles was a bit of a romantic at times but right now he was acting like a fool in love. 

“Well, what do you think?”

“I don’t know, Scotty. I like both ideas. I think, maybe, there’s a way that both can happen. Maybe when two people get under each other’s skin...that’s when the red string attaches.” 

The silence that was there before was back. Stiles looked back up at the sky and Scott sat at the base of the tree. They stayed like that for a bit until Allison showed up asking if they could leave. 

“Go on. I’ll be fine. I’ll get home. I’ll call Uber or whatever.”

Scott nodded and left with Allison. He had no idea if Scott would go back to Allison’s place of if the duo would be at his apartment when he got there. But it didn’t matter. Scott was happy. After twenty minutes he started to climb down the tree and as his feet hit the ground he heard a noise. Stiles turned quickly and then closed his eyes due to be disoriented. When he opened his eyes he noticed Lydia. Clearly she had moved closer to him while he was trying to steady himself.

“Uh...what? What’s up?”

“This is Isaac’s frat house so he lives here and I don’t feel like staying.”

“Do you want me to call someone?”

“I have a phone, Stiles. I was going to get a cab back to my place but...do you think I can just stay at yours? I’ll sleep on the couch.”

“No. I mean, yes you can stay but...you can have my bed.”

Stiles was thankful that he actually cleaned his sheets a few days ago. He tended to put it off and Scott had to remind him twenty times before he did it. If he remembered to do it, he was going to have to treat Scott out to eat or something.

She tilted her head to the side and then smiled softly. Stiles realized, in that moment, that her smile could still make him melt. 

“Okay,” she said as she walked closer to him. “But we need to go and tell Isaac that I’m going with you. He won’t know where I am if we don’t.”

“I have to go with you?”

“Yes. Now come on.”

They walked in silence to where Isaac was talking to a few friends. Upon their arrival, the few boys that were around disappeared to talk to others. Isaac smiled at Lydia and gave a curt nod to Stiles.

“Hey, I thought Scott left already.”

Stiles knew Isaac was asking why Stiles was still around in a roundabout way. It would have made a lot more sense to just straight out ask but he didn’t feel like saying so. The alcohol in his system was fading now that it had been a while since his last drink and he was thinking a little more coherently. A drunker Stiles would have behaved more like a jackass. A sober one would have too if he didn’t feel bad for the poor guy. His sort of girlfriend was going home with someone else. 

“He did.”

“Okay. Ready to go in?”

This time the question was directed to Lydia who had been silent throughout the exchange. Her eyebrows were knitted together. 

“No.”

“No? Okay...We can-”

“No. I’m not going in. I’m going home with Stiles.”

“Uh...okay.”

Isaac’s look of confusion made Stiles want to laugh a little but he refrained from it.  _ I’m such a saint _ he thought as he looked between the two of them.

“Okay. Have a good night.”

“We’ll talk later?” Isaac asked as he leaned down to kiss her lips. 

She gave him a quick kiss and then smiled a very definite fake smile. Stiles could feel  _ something  _ changing but he wasn’t sure if it was actually something or if he was imagining it. 

“I’ll text you.”

And then she turned and started walking. She looked back at him expectantly and he rushed to catch up with her.

“What was that?”

“I don’t know. I guess I’m growing tired of him.”

* * * * *

September faded into October and suddenly, Lydia was coming around more and more. It was as if a switch was flipped. She hung out with the boys on Thursday nights while eating pizza and watching stupid stuff on television. When not with the boys she was with Allison. Lydia spent most of her weekends with them and a few other random days with just Stiles. Those times were spent studying but, also, there was something else going on while they were quizzing each other. Banter was easy between them and he wondered if this would have eventually happened if she had stayed in Beacon Hills or if they both needed to grow up some. 

“I need a break,” he said as he closed his textbook.

“Fine. But just because you did really well on my last quiz.”

“I can’t believe you made up quizzes for each chapter.”

“Correction. I made three quizzes for each chapter.”

He rolled his eyes playfully as he turned his computer chair slightly to look at her better. She was laying on his bed, her textbook in front of her and her head propped up on her hands. Her feet were kicked up and she was looking up at him, her red lips pursed and her eyes bright. Sometimes he wondered what kind of miracle had happened to him that Lydia Martin regularly laid on his bed and looked at him the way she did. 

“Why do you have red string?” she asked as she sat up and walked over to his desk. 

She was beside him and smelling so incredible. He could barely register what she said but after a moment he answered her.

“Oh. I brought it with me for some reason. In high school I used to try and figure out my dad’s cases. I had a board and I would use the red string to show unsolved. There was a lot more red than green.”

She chuckled and picked up the spool. She wound it around her finger before turning to look at him. 

“I’m unsolved,” she said after a moment.

“Wh-what?”

“I’m unsolved. In your life. I’m unsolved.”

“Have you been drinking?” he asked as he reached up and unwound the string. She held the end in her hand and then looked over at him. 

“No. I just...I don’t know what we are. So I’m unsolved.”

Her eyes looked up into hers. Seconds that felt like a lifetime went by as they looked deep into each other’s eyes. Stiles swallowed and looked away, a small smile on his face.

“We’re friends, Lydia. I told you that back in August. We’ve become good friends pretty quickly. You’re my best friend other than Scott.”

“Yeah. You’re right.” 

Her phone started to ring and she turned, spool forgotten, as she moved to answer it. Stiles, trying to give her some privacy, told her he was going to grab them some snacks and talk to Scott. 

In all honesty, the phone going off was welcomed. He was trying his hardest not to read into anything Lydia did. The fact was his crush on Lydia was there still, and had grown tremendously. However, she had a boyfriend or whatever Isaac was, and he had resigned himself to that. The only problem was there were times when she looked at him in a different way than she usually did. These looks tortured his heart and mind. Friends didn’t look at each other the way that she looked at him and he was sure he was sending her the same looks on a more regular basis. 

Stiles couldn’t find Scott so he grabbed a few different bags of chips, two water bottles, and headed back towards his room. His door was still slightly open so he stuck his foot out to open it wider but he stopped when he heard her on the phone. 

“I know. I’ve been ignoring him. I started growing tired of him weeks ago but...maybe I need to let him know face to face.”

There was a pause, presumably the other person on the phone was responding to her. Stiles knew he should turn away. He knew he should not listen in. But it was so tempting. He was about to turn the other way until he heard what came out of her mouth.

“I don’t know, Allison. It’s Stiles...he’s under my skin and part of me doesn’t care.”

Another pause and Stiles was getting antsy. What did she mean? What was she trying to say?

“No. I told myself that I wasn’t going to get serious with anyone. I meant that. Then. Now...he makes me rethink everything and overthink everything. Look, I’ll call you when I leave here. He will be back soon.” 

There was silence after that and he counted to ten in his head before coming in. His heart was beating out of his chest with the confession he had overheard but he had to act like he knew nothing. Their night of studying continued but all he could think about was what he overheard.

* * * * *

“How did I get dragged into this?” Stiles asked as she handed him another dress she wanted to try on. 

“Allison is with Scott and you’re basically the only other person I willingly spend my free time with.”

The answer was simple and yet it still made his heart pick up speed. Why was something so simple as going shopping with Lydia making him have feelings like this? It was incredibly stupid but it didn’t change the fact that this whole outing screamed dating to him. Of course, he knew that crushing on Lydia Martin again was probably not smart. He liked her as a person, as a friend, and he was setting himself up for massive heartbreak. That didn’t mean that he was going to suddenly stop, though. Stiles was going to rationalize it. It would, surely, go away eventually. And he wasn’t going to make a move or even tell her how he felt. He couldn’t compromise their friendship by admitting it and it wasn’t fair to her. She  _ had  _ someone.  Maybe. He wasn’t sure how that was going, honestly, but she hadn’t told him that they broke up or that anything happened so he wasn’t going to try and assume that. 

“Well, thanks for that...but don’t girls like plan ahead their shopping excursions? Did she just like dump you for Scott or something?”

“Usually. And I suppose she did. Scott told her there was something important they he needed to tell her and he couldn’t wait so I told her to go. I think he’s going to ask her to be his girlfriend. He’s such a romantic.”

“I’m a romantic, too.”

Lydia stopped and turned in her incredibly high heels to face him. Stiles noted the look of shock on her face and he just raised his eyebrow, waiting to hear exactly what she was going to say.

“You? You’re a romantic? I have yet to see one romantic thing.”

“Guess there’s no one to be romantic with,” he said, shrugging and trying to act nonchalant.

“Right,” she said, her face falling for a moment before she regained composure.

“I could set up the perfect romantic date if I wanted to.”

“I feel like I should tell you to prove it but if there’s no one worth it then there’s no point.”

She turned sharply and started walking without him. Stiles scrambled to keep up, her dresses heavy in her arms. He knew he had messed up but he didn’t know how he had and he was itching to ask her. 

“Here. I want to try this on.”

She didn’t even look at him and his confusion was plastered on his face. It made no sense to him. He was just trying to do their usual banter but this time it had bitten him in the ass. 

After twenty more minutes of that, she decided she had enough stuff to try on. Lydia walked to the nearest dressing room and told him to sit in the chair outside of them. He felt weird being in that area because there were women going in and out but the doors had locks and he wasn’t trying to be a perv. He was just waiting.

She came out in a precariously short skirt and a white, lacy shirt that was confusing to him. It showed her shoulders and neck but had arms. Whatever it was she looked amazing in it. It was basically see-through. She walked to the mirror and checked herself out before turning to him. 

“How do I look? How does my ass look in this skirt?”

Stiles was at a lost for words. What was he supposed to say? How could he tell her that her ass looked amazing in that skirt and that she should buy that outfit and wear it anytime he was with her? 

“I…”

“What? You’re being a girl for me today. It’s not like I’m anyone you thought about romantically so it really shouldn’t be a problem for you.”

It was clipped and harsh. Stiles didn’t know what to say for a moment.

“Okay,” he said, finally. 

The boy was totally confused. Why was she mad about that comment?

“Um...you should buy it. Everything looks good.”

Her eyes caught his and he could see her softening just a bit. Stiles was melting under her gaze and he was almost one hundred percent sure she could tell what he was feeling. But she didn’t say anything.

“Okay, I will.”

She turned and went back to the dressing room to try something else on. It continued like that and he was honest with her the entire time. There was only one outfit she picked that didn’t flatter her and he told her that she could pull it off but it wasn’t the best. Lydia put it back.

After another hour of looking for clothes and trying on multiple articles of clothing, they went to get pretzels. Stiles paid for them and then they found a table. 

“So, uh..hope you’re not regretting bringing me.”

She looked over at him quizzically and shrugged her shoulders. He sighed and dipped his pretzel in the cheese. 

“You know, sometimes you should think about what you say before you say it, Stiles. You just mouth off the first thing that comes into your head. It’s going to get you into trouble one day.”

She stood up and tossed her trash away before coming back to the table. He didn’t really know what to say so he refrained from saying anything. She pulled out her phone and he did the same to avoid looking stupid. When she put it up, so did he.

“I’m sorry if I said something that made you mad or upset you.”

Sure, he was apologizing for something he didn’t know he did, but he was sorry if he hurt her feelings or made her mad. Stiles didn’t want to do that. It wasn’t his intention at all. 

“Maybe next time I should wait until Allison is free.”

* * * * *

“Coach...what was his last name?” Lydia asked as she popped a marshmallow in her mouth.

Scott, Stiles, Allison and Lydia were sitting around the boys’ kitchen table. Stiles and Scott were making smores in the microwave and the girls were merely eating the ingredients. 

“Finstock,” Scott answered as he brought Allison a smore and a kiss at the same time.

“I called him Bobby just to piss him off.”

“You would,” Allison said before taking a bite of her smore.

“Yes! I just remember thinking that he loved to get Stiles in trouble. I think I kept a running tally of every time I heard him yell Stilinski in the hallway.”

Stiles and Scott looked up at each other at the same time. Both boys had been so sure that she had not even noticed Stiles after fifth grade. It seemed that they were both wrong. He handed her the smore and she looked up at him.

“Thanks, Stiles,” she said. 

“So, can you tell me about young Scott and Stiles?”

“Only until the beginning of ninth grade. That’s when I moved. But I’ve known them since kindergarten.” 

“Then fill me in!”

The girls giggled as Lydia started to tell Allison about the time Scott brought his mom’s super glue to school and the boys glued their clothes together. Scott and Stiles took this time to have a little talk by the stove. 

“I know. You don’t have to say it.”

“But, dude, she paid attention. She listened. She remembered.”

“It doesn’t  _ mean  _ anything. My name is different so, of course, she would remember when Coach yelled it out in the hallways.”

“I don’t think it’s as simple as that.”

“I think you’re reading too much into it. You want us together as much as -”

“What are you boys whispering about over there?”

Scott and Stiles both jumped at the sound of Allison’s voice. They looked back at her and her eyebrow was raised. Stiles could tell she was very curious about their conversation. 

“Just discussing dinosaurs”

“Talking about your birthday.”

Their answers came at the same time and they exchanged looks. Allison and Lydia did the same. 

“We were thinking a dinosaur themed party but we now realize this would be very bad.”

“Yeah, your twenty-first should probably be alcohol themed and not dinosaurs,” Stiles finished rather lamely. 

“Right. Well, I’m getting tired.”

Stiles knew that she wasn’t tired. Instead, it was her cue to Scott that they needed to head to the bedroom. She was as subtle as an elephant in a wedding dress. Scott started fake yawning and Stiles and Lydia both rolled their eyes. They might not have been officially dating long but sex had been a thing since Allison agreed to be his girlfriend. The duo said their goodbyes and Lydia stood up as well. 

“So,” he said as he sat down where Allison had previously been. 

“So.”

“Are you going home for Christmas?”

Lydia shook her head. She pushed her smore aside and grabbed the hot chocolate they had made before. Stiles knew it couldn’t be hot anymore so when she put the mug down, he picked it up and took it to the microwave to warm back up. 

“Why not?”

“I guess I don’t want to go home when no one will be there.”

Stiles brought the mug back to her and she reached up to take it. Their fingers brushed and he noticed her cheeks flush just slightly. Sometimes she was so confusing to him and he couldn’t figure her out at all. Other times he thought he knew her better than she knew herself.

“This might sound  _ really  _ crazy but...would you want to go back to Beacon Hills with us for Christmas? Allison is coming to stay after she has Christmas with her family. And you can stay in my room. I’ll sleep on the couch or we have a blow up mattress...I don’t want you to be alone here, either.”

She watched him, her eyes settling on to his and refusing to leave. There were moments when he thought that  _ maybe  _ she felt something for him. Maybe there was a chance after all.

“I wouldn’t want to impose.”

“You wouldn’t be imposing. I promise.”

The girl licked her lips and then nodded her head slowly.

“Okay.”

* * * * *

Beacon Hills at Christmas time wasn’t what you saw on Hallmark channel’s Christmas lineup. It wasn’t much different than normal days but it was a bit chilly and the town was decorated in Christmas fashion. Stiles, Lydia, and Scott had decided not to head there until it was bit closer to Christmas so on December twenty-second they pulled into town. Lydia had been mostly quiet the whole way, sitting in the passenger’s side of the jeep while Scott and Stiles talked back and forth.

Stiles tried not to ask Lydia what she was thinking. It wasn’t his place, or at least he thought it wasn’t, so he would glance at her from time to time while still maintaining his conversation. 

He dropped Scott off at the hospital knowing his mom would want to see him before heading to his house. They turned down the street and he pulled into the driveway. 

“Do you remember when I came over for a project in fifth grade?” she asked, still sitting and looking out the window.

He released the seat belt from around him and kept his eyes on her.

“Yeah. It was right after my mom was admitted to the hospital. It was just us at home because my dad was working.”

“I was scared. I knew your mom was dying. I knew that...I knew you had been so sad. I wanted to do something to help but I didn’t know what to do.”

“You made me laugh,” he said with a small smile. 

“It wasn’t hard. I found Star Wars jokes in a book at the library.”

“Why shouldn’t you ask Yoda for money?”

“Because he’s a little short.”

Lydia turned and sent him an appreciative smile before taking her seat belt off. Stiles got out of the jeep and walked around to open the door for her and help her out. His hands lingered on hers for a moment before pulling her bag and his out of the back of the jeep. They walked up the steps to his house.

“Dad should be home. I told him you were coming with us and he was happy. It’s been a long time since he’s seen you.”

She nodded and smiled but he could tell she was nervous. She had absolutely no reason to be but he didn’t know what she was thinking so he wasn’t sure how to ease her mind. Stiles opened the door and there was his dad in the chair he always sat in.

“I knew I heard that old jeep,” he said as he got up.

Stiles put the bags down and gave his dad a huge hug. It was incredibly nice to just see his dad again after a few months. His dad was the only family he had which is why when he was going to college he had asked Melissa to check in on him as much as possible.

“You heard right.”

“Hello, Mr. Stilinski,” Lydia said from behind Stiles.

“Lydia. I’m glad to have you here. Welcome back to Beacon Hills.”

Stiles grabbed their bags and took them to his room. Lydia followed, her eyes glancing around. He put the bags down and turned to her, suddenly nervous himself. 

“I hope you don’t mind if I just...um...if I just sleep on the air mattress in here.”

“I can sleep on the air mattress, Stiles.”

“No, it’s fine. I’ll be fine. The bathroom is just down the hall. I’m going to make dinner and then maybe we can watch a movie or something? I would say I would drive you around but it’s getting late and I’m kind of tired of driving.”

“That’s okay. A movie would be good. Can I help you cook dinner?”

“I’d like that.”

Stiles was making roasted salmon and Lydia was chatting away with his dad. His heart was beating so fast just watching the two of them together. It was almost a glimpse into a future he wanted and suddenly his fingers started going a bit numb. There was absolutely no reason to have a panic attack so he took deep breaths in and out and continued to cook to calm himself down. 

“I’m going to go the restroom. I’ll be right back,” Lydia told him as she sat her phone beside him on the counter.

He worked on his green beans and her phone went off. He tried not to glance but he did, letting curiosity get the better of him. 

_ You have been ignoring me. _

It was from Isaac and confusion suddenly went through his body. He remembered when he overheard her on the phone with Allison but as far as he knew she still saw Isaac every now and then. The phone buzzed again and Isaac’s name appeared.

_ It’s been over a week since you even talked to me.  _

He tried to ignore it but it kept going off.

_ Three weeks since we saw each other.  _

_ It’s because of Stiles, isn’t it?  _

Seeing his name caused goosebumps to go up and down his body. Why would it be because of him? They were just friends. Sometimes he thought they had potential to be more but he also knew his opinion was a bit biased.

“Okay, I’m back. What can I help you with?”

Stiles looked up from his food and forced an easy smile on his face. He didn’t want her to know about the texts. 

“Um...can you check on the tomatoes in the oven?”

It went on like that through dinner and even when they were watching a movie together. He saw her typing away on her phone and he wondered if it was to Isaac or Allison.

* * * * *

“I got hit on,” Lydia announced to the group.

“That’s not surprising,” Allison replied as she smiled at her new best friend.

“I didn’t want to be hit on, though. Sometimes it’s good for a girl’s self-esteem but I just wasn’t feeling it. He asked who I was here with. I told him my friends which didn’t seem to persuade him to leave me alone. So I mentioned my boyfriend was with me.”

Allison snorted a laugh. Scott and Stiles exchanged a look.

“Well, you’re not going to use Scott for that.”

“Of course not. Stiles will be my boyfriend.”

“Wh-what? I’m going to be your boyfriend? Isn’t this the time you would tell us something about females needing to prove that being alone doesn’t mean that they want a guy or something?”

“Not when the guy is annoying me. What’s so bad about being my boyfriend, Stiles? You’ll hold my hand, kiss my cheek...you’ll survive.”

“It’s not...no...I’m not...I’m not saying that it’ll be bad. It’s not bad. Being your boyfriend would not be bad, Lydia. I didn’t say that.”

“Fine. Then it’s settled. Hold my hand.” 

It didn’t feel unnatural. There was something about her hand in his as they walked, talked with their friends, had fun at the New Year’s Eve festival, that felt like it was always supposed to be there. She didn’t stop holding his hand, either. Even after the guy disappeared from their sight she kept his hand in his. He told himself that it was because she didn’t want any guy hitting on her but deep down he hoped it was just because she was feeling the same way as him. 

“Isaac is mad at me,” she confessed as they sat on the ferris wheel.

“Why?”

“Because I’m here with you. He’s jealous.”

“Of me?”

“Yeah. I spend all my free time with you and not him and he’s jealous. I told him I was technically single and regardless I am not owned by anyone and can spend my time how I want.” 

“I mean...that’s true.”

“Should he have a reason to be jealous?” she asked, her eyelashes batting as she blinked at him. 

He swallowed hard and looked at her and then at the ground and then back at her. 

“I want him to,” he said after a moment, “Have a reason, I mean. I want there to be a reason he’s jealous.”

She smiled softly at him and took his hand in hers once more.

“I think there is.”

They left around ten to head to a party Jackson was throwing. Lydia was a bit nervous to see her ex again but Stiles convinced her it would be fine. He would be with her the entire time and if they got separated he would find her. 

It wasn’t ten minutes after getting there that Jackson had found them, found her, and was sending her the smile he used to when they were young. Lydia was definitely more confident around him than she used to be but she also didn’t play dumb for his benefit. He was proud about that.

“Stiles...can you go get me a drink?” she asked. 

He wasn’t sure if she wanted a drink or wanted to be alone with Jackson but after their talk on the ferris wheel it felt like a punch to the gut. Of course he left to go get her a drink and waited in line. There wasn’t much to choose from besides beer but he found some champagne he was sure she would prefer and started heading back towards them.

“I’m not going to your bedroom, Jackson, so you can forget that right now,” he overheard as he was walking back.

“Come on, Lydia...for old times sake.”

“I’m here with Stiles.”

“I know you sent him off so we could be alone.”

“No, I asked him to get me a drink. I didn’t think you’d be such a jerk but clearly nothing has changed.”

“Why are you with that loser anyway?”

At this point, Stiles had stopped and decided to just listen. He knew he would interrupt if he needed to but Lydia was handling it at this point.

“He’s not a loser. Stiles is great, Jackson. He’s a gentleman. He’s also incredibly intelligent like I am. I don’t know what I saw in you back then. I’m assuming your looks and popularity but you were always an asshole. That’s the one thing that will never change.”

Stiles decided to come into the picture now. He handed Lydia the champagne and took a sip of the beer. Stiles easily put his arm around Lydia’s waist.

“It was nice catching up but we’re going to go find Scott and his girlfriend now.”

When the countdown reached one it was Stiles that Lydia kissed.

“Happy New Year, Stiles.”

“Happy New Year.”

* * * * *

“I’m actually really sad that we won’t have any classes together this semester,” Lydia told him as they sat down in the student center. 

It was the first day of spring classes and their schedules had basically lined up so they could eat lunch together.. 

“I am, too. But that doesn’t mean you should stop coming over to study. I can still quiz you.”

She beamed at him and opened up her salad. The girl began to pick at it as he bit down on his burger. They were in a comfortable silence and it was just nice. Everything about being with her was nice. 

“After this semester we will only have two years left. Do you plan on staying in California?”

Lydia shrugged her shoulders and put her fork down. 

“I was thinking of going to grad school but I don’t know where. I guess I’ll decide that eventually.” 

Stiles took another bite of his burger and nodded his head. It was such a strange concept to think about. Not having Lydia around again would be the worst thing that had ever happened to him he was sure. Over the course of the last few months he realized that not only was his crush back, but he was falling for Lydia Martin. It was a real, adult love, and he didn’t know what to do about it.

“You’ll do amazing wherever you go.”

“Thanks, Stiles. You do always believe in me.”

“I just know how smart and driven you are. Trust me when I tell you.”

“I do. I trust you.”

* * * * *

Spring break was just around the corner and the four of them had decided to go to the Argent family beach house. It wasn’t too far from campus, about two hours, and they had a private beach. The only problem was the bedrooms. Two bedrooms were fine for the Argents because Allison was their only child but for four teens it proved to be a little awkward. Or, at least Scott was afraid it would be. 

“Well, Allison and I will have her old bedroom. That leaves you two.”

“I’ll sleep on the couch,” Stiles volunteered. 

“No you won’t,” Lydia told him, “You’ll sleep with me. I mean...we can share the bed. Allison said it is a king size. That’s plenty of room.”

Just like that it was settled. Of course, Stiles protested a lot but it didn’t take long for him to just accept that Lydia was hard headed and she was not taking no for an answer. 

They took Stiles’ jeep to the beach house. Allison had made Lydia promise that she wouldn’t take homework so that was one less bag they had to worry about. The girls had gone bikini shopping a few days before and were definitely prepared for whatever might arise. They arrived around two and decided to change and head to the water. Stiles and Scott were done before the girls so they waited downstairs, putting away the groceries they had bought.

Stiles’ head snapped up when Lydia headed downstairs and Scott’s did the same as Allison followed her. Both girls were in barely there bikinis and Stiles knew he was in for a world of hurt. 

“Everyone ready?” Scott asked as he moved to Allison.

“I think so,” Lydia responded, her eyes settling on Stiles.

Lydia and Stiles followed Scott and Allison out of the house. They were quiet, just walking together, and Stiles could feel Lydia’s eyes on him from time to time.

“I’ve never seen you without a shirt on,” she said after a moment.

His cheeks turned red and he looked over at her.

“Yeah, I don’t...my body isn’t like...you know, like Scott’s so…”

“I think your body is great, Stiles.”

“Thank you. So is yours. I’m sure you know that but it is. It’s really great.”

Whatever was happening between them caused both of them to be slightly shy. Of course he was more so than she was. Their semi-confession at the top of the ferris wheel made each time they were alone seem like there was static in the air. It was as if they were almost there and one of them needed to give yet neither was going to. 

Lydia sat down in one of the beach chairs that was close to the water. Scott was already chasing Allison into the water so Stiles sat down beside her in the sand. They were silent but a moment later she moved her hand so it was in his  hair and she was carefully brushing through it. Moments like that made him realize just what they could be. 

The next morning, Stiles stirred in bed. He had made sure to be far from Lydia so she wouldn’t think that he was going to try anything. However, their bodies had other things planned. Her leg was draped around his waist and his arm was around hers. Her eyes opened and she sent him a small smile. 

“Hi,” she breathed out.

“Hi.”

She closed her eyes again and moved in closer to him. That’s when he relaxed. If she was okay with this then so was he. He just didn’t want to put her into a position where she was uncomfortable.

“I smell breakfast,” she said after a moment. 

She removed herself from around him and got up, her tiny shorts and almost see-through top were not helping his current morning situation. Lydia turned back to him and he pulled the covers over him.

“Sorry for being so...clingy...I probably will the rest of the time we are here. Also, no need to hide it. I’ve already felt it.” 

Lydia grabbed her clothes and headed to the bathroom to change. Stiles laid there, not knowing what to do, but he did know that he had to get dressed for the day. Even if it was just in a pair of trunks. Finally he got out of bed and tossed his boxers off in favor of board shorts. They were long and comfortable. He headed downstairs. Allison was in a bathing suit with a pair of blue jean shorts making eggs and Scott was having a hard time with the pancakes. Stiles told him to move over and he finished them up.

After putting pancakes on everyone’s plates, he grabbed cups for drinks. Lydia came up beside him to help. He just smiled at her. 

Full bellies meant a full day of sun and surf ahead. They packed a picnic lunch to eat out there and spent the rest of the day out in the water. When they got back to the house, Stiles made everyone burgers and french fries. Scott and Allison excused themselves for the hot tub and that meant Lydia and Stiles were not going there. 

“Do you want to go back to the water?”

Stiles looked up at her as he finished cleaning the pans that were used. Honestly he didn’t know what she would want to do or if she would even want to do anything with him.

“Sure.”

“Good. Because we’re going skinny dipping.”

Stiles almost cut himself on the knife he was cleaning when she suggested skinny dipping. The idea of seeing her naked was definitely going to cause him to have a heart attack. Well, that or an erection. He was betting on the latter, actually.

“Okay.”

Once again he was at a loss for words when it came to Lydia. She caused him to forget the vocabulary he had learned. 

“Then finish up there and let’s go before it gets too chilly. I’ll grab some towels.” 

He put the last of the silverware up and turned the water off. Stiles watched as she put on her flip flops and headed out the door. He wasn’t far behind her. They made it to the water in no time and she turned and looked him straight in the eye as she reached behind her and pulled the string of her bikini. It was over her head in no times and his eyes came into contact with her chest for the first time. He glanced and then caught her eyes again. She was smirking at him. 

“Well, take it off,” she said as she motioned towards his shorts.

Shorts were soon on the sand and he was standing in front of her completely naked. She made no attempt to keep her eyes on his, however. He was visibly being checked out and it sent blood flowing to a very prominent part of his body. Suddenly her bottoms were on the sand and she stood in front of him just as naked as he was.

“Race you,” she said before turning and running. 

When they were both in the water, the splashed each other and shivered from the chilly water. The idea that anyone could see them was thrilling but he had more fun just from chasing her in the water. 

After they were back on the shore, wrapped up in towels, Lydia looked over at him and took a deep breath. Stiles wondered what she was getting ready to say because that’s the look that was on her face.

“I thought about you. About us...being something more once. In eighth grade, actually. You were going on about how orange and blue would be a good together and I told you absolutely not. But you said that sometimes things that wouldn’t make a good combination actually did. Something like that. And you mentioned two people and I knew you were talking about us but...I wanted to be popular. I  _ was  _ popular and dating you would...it would ruin everything. And then you gave me a Reeses. It was at the skating rink when the class got to go, remember? I just ended up not returning your feelings.”

Stiles nodded his head, knowing exactly what she was talking about. He had gotten brave that day and decided to sit down beside her and offer her clothing because she was cold and her jacket ripped. He didn’t really remember exactly what happened but he remembered the look in her eye. It was almost as if she was contemplating him and what she said. 

“Wanna...um...do you wanna go to the room? We can talk or watch movies or...sleep.” 

“Stiles.”

“Yeah?” he asked as he looked over at her.

“Let’s go back to the room.” 

They walked in silence to the beach house and Lydia went up the stairs first with Stiles close on her heels. She grabbed a pair of underwear and put them on quickly before going to the bed and wrapping up in a spare blanket.

“Come sit with me,” she told him, her eyelashes raising as she looked up at him.

It seemed to be a moment, an important one, and he wasn’t sure what the correct choice was. They had talked about things and sort of expressed interest but it just felt like if he sat down beside her everything would change. 

After a moment of hesitation he pulled on a pair of boxers and sat down beside her.

“What else do you remember about us, you and me, being young?” he asked as he looked down at his hands.

“What do you mean?”

“Your story...I didn’t think you knew who I was in junior high or high school. I mean...I know I approached you but...I didn’t think you even paid attention to me.”

Lydia paused and looked away for a moment. She found a loose piece of string and played with it. 

“Lydia…” 

“I knew who you were,” she said after a moment, finally looking up at him. 

“You did?”

“Of course I did, Stiles. We’ve known each other since we were little. Did you think I just forgot you?”

He chuckled lightly and then shrugged his shoulders. Of course he was finding it hard to even think about anything at the moment. She was looking at him in  _ that  _ way again and it was taking his breath away.

“I guess…” he started after a moment, “that you decided I wasn’t worth it.”

For a moment she looked hurt but it faded. It was as if something clicked in her mind and she decided to flip the script.

“I had my eyes on popularity. It was a bit cruel but I’m not going to apologize, Stiles. At least not for not returning your feelings. I will say sorry for ignoring you though.”

“I would never ask you to apologize for not feeling the same way about me.”

They were both quiet after that. Lydia leaned back on the headboard and Stiles moved closer to her. The silence wasn’t awkward though, in fact, he found it to be calming. It was kind of strange how they didn’t need to fill the quiet with small talk. It was actually comforting to him that they could sit without talking and be fine. 

“I still have your letter.”

Stiles let out a very audible groan. He had forgotten all about that stupid letter. And he had hoped she had thrown it away. Or never read it. Anything but still having it.

“Yeah, sorry...I was kind of pathetic back then.”

“Back then?” she said, a grin on her face.

“Wow. That’s harsh, Lydia. Very harsh.”

“I am teasing. You’re not  _ that  _ pathetic anymore.” 

“That’s what I thought. I’ve matured.”

“The letter was sweet, though. It actually helped me. I told myself if I ever saw you again I would tell you thank you. I haven’t yet so...thank you.”

“Wait...what exactly are you thinking me for?”

“When I first read the note I rolled my eyes and almost crumpled it up and tossed it. I didn’t though. Something stopped me. I don’t know why. I was at a new school so why did I care so much about a note a boy that I was barely friends with wrote me? Still, I kept it. About a year after I moved I started to...take what you said to heart. I didn’t change, not completely, but I did start owning my intelligence. Your letter...you mentioned how if something happened to me you’d go out of your mind. Is that still true?”

He looked over at her and gave her a small smile. They both knew the answer to that.

“You know it is.”

“You also said that there was an actual person behind my cold exterior and how you knew how smart I actually was...by the way, it’s a Fields Medal I’ll be winning. Not a Nobel prize.”

“I wasn’t caught up on my math awards but now I know.”

“You mean a lot to me, Stiles. I just...I want you to know that.”

“You mean a lot to me, too.”

“I don’t think you get it. I’ve been a bit confused lately. Well, actually since we’ve started hanging out but it just got more confusing and I stopped sleeping with Isaac-”

“Wait. You two broke up?”

“I told you back at that first party that I was growing tired of him. Plus, on the ferris wheel I told you that there was something he should be jealous of. We kissed on New Year’s Eve.”

“But that doesn’t actually mean anything.”

“Well, technically I didn’t break up with him. We were never  _ actually  _ dating. When did you think I was seeing him, Stiles? I spend all of my time with you or Allison. I barely make time for my study groups. I get asked out four times a week and I’ve said no to all of them. Each guy I turned down was incredibly smart and incredibly good looking. I’m not saying you aren’t...I’m just saying...I’d rather be with you.”

His heart started beating uncontrollably. Numbness was setting into his hands and his breathing was stilted. Lydia noticed and sat up, making Stiles sit up with her. She crawled over to him and took both of his hands in hers. It was easy for her, now that she had read up completely about it, to recognize the beginning of a panic attack.

“Breathe with me. I promise it’s okay. It’s not scary.”

After a few moments, Stiles was breathing in and out with her. They were deep and full breaths and he was able to bring himself down fairly easy. Once he had calmed down completely, he laid down in the bed and she laid down beside him.

“How did you know how to do that?”

“Well, once I found out...I read up.”

“You did that for me?”

“Of course I did. I wanted to make sure...if it happened...you’d be okay. Can you tell me what triggered it?”

“I guess...you did,” he said, his eyes on her to judge her reaction. 

“How? So I know what not to do.”

“It’s nothing you did. You said you’d rather be with me. Do you know how badly I wanted you to say that when we were younger? Now you’re saying it and I don’t know what it means and I got scared because the way I feel about you...it’s more than just a crush, Lydia.”

“I know,” she said, her nose almost touching his as they laid on their sides to look at each other.

“Okay.”

“I know because I feel the same about you. You’re under my skin, Stiles Stilinski and I never want that to change.”

He smiled brightly at her and then they both realized that Lydia was still only in her panties. 

“Do you have a shirt I can wear?” she asked with a bright smile. 

“Yeah, I do.”

He grabbed a shirt out of his bag and handed it to her. The girl pulled it over her head and leaned over on his shoulder. Stiles wrapped his arm around her and that’s when she kissed him. 

Her lips trembled at first but firmed up as soon as he responded. Confidently, she pursued tasting the inside of his mouth. His tongue met hers briefly before she pulled away sheepishly. 

“Good night, Stiles.”

* * * * *

“I have so many knots in my shoulder,” Lydia complained as the four of them sat in the library.

“I will give you a massage when we get back to your room,” Stiles replied without even thinking.

Allison and Scott exchanged a look and Allison couldn’t help her smiles. Lydia caught them and rolled her eyes. Ever since spring break the four of them had been inseparable. However, Stiles and Lydia were a little more discreet with their affection than Scott and Allison. Where Stiles might hold Lydia’s hand, Scott had his arms wrapped around Allison. The other two couldn’t get over hearing little things like Stiles going to give Lydia a massage. 

“What did I miss?” Stiles said as he looked up from his work.

“What are you talking about?” Allison answered.

“I heard you laughing.” 

Allison and Scott both broke out in laughs and Lydia turned towards her boyfriend. 

“We should go study on our own. These two are acting like children…”

Lydia paused and a look came into her eye. Stiles didn’t recognize it but he was definitely curious about what it meant. 

“Or...you can help me find a book I’ve been dying to read.”

Stiles was confused. He didn’t know where the change was coming from but he would happily follow her wherever she was going. Their relationship had shifted in such a profound way and he was still learning to read Lydia. 

“Sure. Yeah. Where do you think -” he started as he stood up.

Lydia didn’t say anything but took him by the arm and started to drag him through the stacks of books. The library was huge and they were going deep into it. Stiles was pretty sure he didn’t see another person around for a few stacks. Lydis stopped and he almost ran into her.

“Have you heard about why people come all the way back here?” she asked, turning on her heel to face him. 

“Not really. Though I didn’t do a lot of studying at the library last year-”

He was cut off, once again, except this time her lips stopped his words. They were practiced at kissing by now. His lips were malleable under hers and he let himself get lost in the feel of her lips moving against his. He opened his mouth easily as her tongue probed for more. Stiles felt fingernails move under his shirt. There was a fleeting moment of worry but Lydia was not allowing him to think about it. Their lips separated for only a moment as his shirt came off of his body and was thrown somewhere. 

Stiles kept his lips moving along hers as his fingers deftly unbuttoned the light blue denim top that fit snugly against her skin. Stiles struggled, only momentarily, with the tie at the bottom of the shirt but soon it was off and tossed wherever his shirt was. Although they had gone skinny dipping together, Stiles hadn’t seen her like this under these circumstances and he treated the experience seriously. His fingers moved reverently over her skin as his lips found her neck and moved across it as if it was his last meal and he wanted to savor every moment. 

Her head was tossed back to allow him the freedom of movement and a moan escaped her lips as he moved down to her clavicle. With one quick movement, he picked her up and placed her on a table, the floral skirt she was wearing bunched up around her hips due to her legs wrapping around his body. He could feel his length pressing into her body and for a fleeting, brief moment, he wondered if she thought it was too much. However, the idea left his mind almost as soon as he thought it and he went back to focusing on tasting her skin in its entirety. One hand pushed into her hair as his lips moved back to hers and the other began to push under skirt, resting on her thigh. There was a hunger in their kiss that he couldn’t deny. The hand that was pushed in her hair moved down to her breast, grasping tightly before he began to slowly knead it. Her answering moans let him know that he was doing something she liked. After a moment he moved his hand to the top of the cup of her bra and pushed his hand under the fabric, moans coming out of both their mouths. 

“Stiles. Lydia!”

They both froze as they heard the voice. Scott picked the absolute worst time ever to come to the back of the stacks. He groaned and carefully removed his hand from her bra so that he wouldn’t accidentally flash Scott. Before he could turn around, he heard Allison’s laughter.

“Let me guess...you were looking for us?”

“Well, yeah. I was getting hungry and...how about I go and let Lydia get dressed and then...or continue. You can continue…” 

Stiles turned to see Scott with his hand over his eyes and Allison with hers over her mouth. He sighed and squeezed his eyes shut, hoping that when he opened them they would both be gone. No such luck. Lydia had thrown her top back on, the buttons skewed, and had smoothed her skirt down.

“I’m dressed. You can open your eyes.”

Scott did just that and Allison let out another peal of laughter. 

“You just couldn't keep your hands off of her, could you?” Allison asked Stiles as she wiggled her eyebrows at him.

“Actually, it was me.”

Both Scott and Allison stopped walking while Lydia kept on, pulling Stiles with her as they held hands. His smirk firmly planted on his lips as the other two caught up with them. 

“What? I like sex. I was about have sex until you two rudely interrupted. To pay me back for that Scott is staying with Allison tonight so Stiles and I can have very loud sex without being judged.”

“We would never -” Scott started as they walked out of the library.

“Oh, don’t lie. Stiles and I hear you two all the time. Well, technically I don’t hear you. You’re not very vocal. Allison on the other hand -”

“We get it,” Allison chimed in, her face flushing just slightly but her smile still on her face.

“All I got out of that was I’m going to get laid,” Stiles said as he looked down at his girlfriend.

“Yes. You are. Many times. Over and over-”

“Okay here’s the jeep! Let’s go get food!” Scott exclaimed.

“Yeah, yeah. We’ll stop talking about sex. For now.”

* * * * *

Stiles woke up, his legs tangled with his girlfriend’s just like every morning. Finals were over and they were officially juniors. Lydia and Stiles were both taking summer courses but they had a week until they started. He barely moved, just enough so he could look at her face. It was incredible to think that they had been dating for only a couple of months but he felt like this was the start of the rest of his life. Lydia Martin, the girl he had a crush on in third grade, the one he didn’t stop thinking about as he grew up and even when she moved he always wondered about her, was dating him. 

“You are reminding me a bit of Edward Cullen right now.” 

Stiles snorted out a laugh and pulled her body closer to his as their legs finally untangled. He kissed the top of her forehead and closed his eyes again.

“Are you going back to sleep now that you’ve woken me up?”

“I didn’t wake you up! I barely moved. It’s only seven. Go back to sleep.”

“We have to meet Scott and Allison at nine.”

“Exactly. Let’s sleep for another hour.”

“I don’t think that’s what you really want to do…” Lydia said as she reached out and grabbed his cock.

“H-hey! You know that’s a morning thing. Well, a morning thing combined with a Lydia thing but…”

“Fine. If you want to go back to sleep we can,” she said as she turned away and pretended to go back to sleep.

“No. Sorry. You started this and now I’m going to finish it.”

Stiles grabbed her and pulled her so she was on her back, her smile clear on her face. He smirked as he looked at her and then winked before he moved down her body, his lips making a trail to mark where they had been. Her moans were quiet as he pushed her night gown up and pulled her lacy panties down her body. She knew where this was going and honestly she would let him live down there if he wanted to.

His finger moved along her lips and dipped inside to see if she was ready for him. He smirked a little to feel that she was.

“So wet already, Lyds. It’s like I turn you on or something.”

“I swear, Stilinski, if your lips aren’t on me in ten seconds I will find a way to never give you head again.”

Stiles didn’t hesitate to place his lips on her, his tongue dipping inside to taste her. It didn’t matter how many times he went down on her he was always overwhelmed by how she tasted. A moan escaped his lips and Lydia let one of her own out at the feeling. Lydia’s fingers threaded in Stiles hair and she slightly pushed him into her. He looked up, his tongue still working her, to see her head thrown back against her pillow. The way she looked caused him to strain against his boxers. 

It wasn’t long until Lydia reached her orgasm and Stiles kept moving his tongue, slowly, as she came down from it. Her eyes opened and she smiled softly at Stiles before beckoning him to her. The boy happily obliged and kissed her lips as he rutted against her once.

“You have gum.”

“Didn’t want you to have to kiss me with bad breath.”

“I don’t have gum.”

“You went down on me. You don’t need it.” 

Lydia moved from under him and licked her lips as she helped him remove his boxers. He kicked them off and watched as Lydia grabbed a condom from the inside of his nightstand. She tore the foil wrapper with her teeth and carefully rolled it on him. Stiles grabbed her hips and guided her onto his dick, her body knowing his so effortlessly by now. 

Her hips rolled against his and he tried his hardest to maintain eye contact with her. After a few moments, however, it became too much and he had to close his eyes due to the feeling of her body moving up and down over him. His right hand traveled under her gown and onto her breast, rolling her nipple between his thumb and forefinger before kneading her breast. Lydia moaned under his ministrations and Stiles forced his eyes open so he could see her.

Lydia Martin was a goddess and he was going to worship her until he died. She picked up speed and used his shoulders as support to move faster on him. Stiles matched her rhythm with his hips. Their pace built up until it was at an almost frantic point but Lydia hit her second orgasm soon and she slowed down her pace as she rode it out. It wasn’t a few seconds after Lydia came around him that Stiles released into the condom. His hips slowed as his orgasm finished and soon they were looking at each other and panting. 

“How long until round two?” Lydia asked as she laid down beside him.

Stiles took the condom off, tied it up and tossed it into his bedroom trashcan. He rolled back over and kissed the side of her head before letting out a laugh. 

“Give me a few and I’ll be ready.”

“We’re going to be late meeting them, aren’t we?” 

“Yes. And I don’t give a damn if we are.”

“Good. But let's go brush our teeth first.”

“Yeah, good idea.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> I just want to thank my awesome beta! Carlee (martinberryrps.tumblr.com) is my best friend and she has really pushed me with this fic. She was my driving force and my sounding board. Thank you so much, Carlee. This would not be what it is if it wasn't for you.
> 
> I also want to thank Gaby (@HRodenArg on twitter) for the most amazing YouTube trailer for my fic. It is seriously amazing!
> 
> Finally, I'd like to thank Ronnie (songof-light.tumblr.com) for the amazing title card! She's a doll for doing this for us. 
> 
> Thank you for taking the time to read this!


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